A tour of one of the 200 different ethnic groups who live & contribute to our California

While exploring Los Angeles one weekend during the summer, I stumbled upon the district of Little Armenia. The community intrigued me, so I dove deeper, traveled further and found a large, diverse Armenian culture in California.

The most moving tribute to Armenians is located in the park outside the Fresno Courthouse. Donated to the County of Fresno by the people of Armenian descent of the San Joaquin Valley, the statue was dedicated on August 11, 1970 and was created by sculptor Varaz Samuelian. The plaque reads:

“David of Sassoon is the legendary folk-hero of the Armenians who rid their land of foreign conquerors single-handedly. It is an epic based on historical events dating back to the seventh century A.D. Troubadours, poets and sculptors have immortalized him for it gives eloquent expression to man’s undying love of freedom and justice for all. This statue, by Varaz Samuelian of Fresno, represents a thousand Davids in a thousand lands where throughout all of history man has sought to sustain his freedom against overwhelming odds.” [Read more…]

The Chula Vista City Council has promised $1.2 million annually from the city’s general fund to back its agreement with the Port of San Diego on the Bayfront Master Plan project. The vote took place on Nov. 15. The San Diego Union Tribune elaborated on the details.

The Tribune quoted CV Port Commissioner Ann Moore as saying, “This action demonstrates the city’s continued commitment to this project, which will generate revenue and create the top-tier destination that Chula Vista deserves.”

The Editorial Board of the UT also wrote about Chula Vista this week, citing that the second most populous city is experiencing exciting times, particularly with an agreement to turn the 535-acre industrial site into a residential and resort destination (the Bayfront project). The editors did ask where the money might come from to build such an expensive project. [Read more…]

You’ll love their plush booths that throw you back to the days when cuddling up and having a private conversation with your significant other was the best kind of evening. For the socially rambunctious who miss the days when dives were “the thing,” they also have a bar open from 6pm to 1:30pm.

The bar is what kept the establishment afloat until Chef Ramon Gomez came onto the scene. Center Cut Steakhouse is actually 25 years old. However, six years ago the original owner passed away. The restaurant then went through a series of owners. [Read more…]

Right Wing ‘Rebel Alliances’ in Imperial Beach

Before the elections, Imperial Beach residents received unsigned election fliers in their mailboxes. The fliers asked people to join “Rebel Alliances” and contained debunked conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton. Vincent Farnsworth at the San Diego Reader reported here.

Border Residents and a Trump Presidency

Residents and employees at the U.S.-Mexican border feel jittery after Trump’s election, especially since Mexico is the U.S.’s third largest trade partner. What’s more, calls for “Build a Wall” baffle some of us because — here’s what Border Field State Park looks like today. [Read more…]

This year, I tried to cover elections for a region that often feels ignored: the South Bay — defined as everything south of the I-54 (including National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and South San Diego). For Democrats and pro-labor, the overall results were quite positive in this region.

Here, I want to introduce you to the candidates based on my own coverage. During this election cycle, I have gotten to know many of the candidates and wish them all best of luck serving our communities.[Read more…]

The Committee on Chicano Rights President asks if National City is ‘chopped liver’

On November 3rd, Herman Baca, President of the Committee on Chicano Rights (CCR), wrote a letter to Michael Vu at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters asking: Why doesn’t National City have a Mail Ballot Drop-Off Location?

Imperial Beach has a population of 26,324 and offers one drop-off location. Meanwhile, National City—with a population of 58,582—has none. Baca explained that National City has a 63% hispanic population and a media household income of $38,849. (By comparison, Imperial Beach’s median household income is $52,148.) What’s more, National City has one of the highest sales tax rates in the county —— at 9%. [Read more…]

Rachel — who lives with her nine children at the Gateway Inn, along San Ysidro Boulevard — was served with a lawsuit yesterday. She is being evicted, but has nowhere to go. She is being told by other residents that the manager might turn off the lights and water soon.

You may remember how back in August, residents of the Gateway Inn received 60-day eviction notices. The building, which some have called an “abomination” due to its terrible conditions, had criminal misdemeanor charges filed against it in February 2015. The complaint cited five violations, including failure to keep the property free of waste.

The owner, listed in public documents as Francis Lin, submitted a permit to the City of San Diego to demolish the two-story hotel.

In a new phone interview, Rachel explained that many tenants are still living at the Gateway Inn, despite the eviction notices. She tried to give the managers her rent today, but he refused to take it. [Read more…]

Mayor Serge Dedina retracted the Welcoming City proclamation that had been issued in mid-August. The proclamation was meant to welcome immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers to IB. Why the change of heart?

Protestors at the September 21 IB City Council meeting booed the mayor’s father as he spoke about being a refugee from Nazi Germany and said the U.S. should let in more refugees. Many in the crowd held up “No ISIS” signs and one witness said there was a “riot” outside the council room, according to the San Diego Reader. [Read more…]

On Sept. 7, 2016, Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce and the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors hosted a Candidates Forum at Southwestern College. Four candidates — two for District 3 and two for District 4 — debated each other in hopes of gaining your vote for Chula Vista City Council on November 8.

Less than 100 people attended the event.

New Districts For Chula Vista: As the second largest city in San Diego County, Chula Vista has approximately 250,000 residents. The eastern part of the City anticipates an influx of over 60,000 more people within the next two decades, in particular with the coming of a new University and the Millenia Project. [Read more…]

Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) is the state’s largest elementary school district (K-6) and good news: the CVESD outperformed its county and state counterparts in 2016 with 62% of students meeting or exceeding the standards in English. In math CV students scored 49% on average compared to the county’s 44% and the state’s 37%.

However, you’ll still want to be careful. In May 2016, shortly before the election primary, Larry Breitfelder-Navas and consultant Kenneth Moser filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission saying that three trustees: Eduardo Reyes, Leslie Bunker and Francisco Tamayo made campaign violations connected to reporting donations and spending during the 2014 school board election. Now careful. Breitfelder-Navas only named three Democratic trustees and Breitfelder-Navas is a Republican who ran for Chula Vista City Council in 2012. [Read more…]

Way back in February 2016 I attended a meeting of the GMOC, where a city employee said Chula Vista needs $600 million for infrastructure repairs. To address the crisis, the city considered either a half-cent sales tax hike that would bring $16 million per year, or a $200 million bond. Both would fall short of actual needs.

Bond money would come from property taxes. The half-cent sales tax would be paid at the time of the sale of goods and would not apply to certain items, such as groceries and prescription medicines. According to a survey conducted in English and Spanish, with about 880 participants, more residents supported the sales tax measure.

Hector now lives in Tijuana while he awaits citizenship papers. In the meantime, he fills his time as director and founder of the Deported Veterans Support House, a shelter located in Otay, Mexico. He created the shelter in 2012 and currently six people live there, including one female who is not a veteran, but is staying at what he called ‘the bunker.’

“We try to do what we can. We try to help each other out. We live by the motto leave no man behind,” Hector says. “We have veterans deported from 24 different countries, from the Vietnam War to Iraq and Afghanistan. They served honorably, but after their service they got into some kind of trouble with the law. It could be a $300 check to something like a discharge of a firearm, like myself. I did three years in prison. I had my legal residence. I was not undocumented.”

One of the issues Hector is working on is to allow deported veterans to still get their medical benefits. Just because they are deported, doesn’t mean they lose their health care. However, since they can’t come across into the United States, they can’t be physically present for their appointments. Hector is working to get the VA to outsource those programs. That way, all these men who fought in Iraq and Vietnam and have PTSD can, at the very least, receive treatment. [Read more…]

On a busy afternoon in 1984, a white man entered a McDonalds and for 77 minutes shot and then re-shot customers and employees. 21 people died and 19 were wounded. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in United States history.

That very day, the killer had been up in Clairemont Mesa arguing to a judge against a parking ticket. He then ate at a McDonald’s without incident. Originally from Ohio, the shooter had moved to Tijuana, but lost his job there and then came to San Ysidro and worked as a security guard.

Notice how I refuse to say the name of the killer. Charlie Minn, director of a new documentary about the McDonald’s Massacre in San Ysidro, also refuses to pay much attention to that individual. A filmmaker known for telling gut-wrenching stories— including Murder Capital of the World and Es El Chapo?—Minn began interviews for the San Ysidro film last May 2016. His focus was on the victims and their lingering pain even after thirty years. [Read more…]

The First United Methodist Church of National City had planned to host a City Council Candidates Forum on Monday, September 26th. They wanted to have a meet-and-greet, allow candidates to give a presentation and then have time for questions & answers.

Unfortunately, First United had to cancel the event. They explained only two candidates had responded to the invitation, even though this forum was the only one planned for the entire city.

Last week, I emailed & called each candidate. I asked them to answer 5 questions relating to National City. Of the six candidates, Jerry Cano (currently Vice Mayor) and David Garcia did not respond.

Fortunately, four other candidates agreed to send their answers: Jose Rodriguez, Luis Natividad (former City Councilmember and also endorsed by the San Diego Democratic Party), Candy Morales and Alejandra Sotelo-Solis (currently city council member of National City and endorsed by the San Diego Democratic Party). [Read more…]

Water Board District Elections and Your Drinking Water

South Bay! Do you know where your drinking water comes from? Not from San Diego County, that’s for sure. This semi-arid, bone-dry environment has seen droughts since settlers came to the region in the early 1900s.

San Diego County must import about 85 percent of its water. Rainwater, in good years, only accounts for about 5-10 percent maximum of water supplies. As a consequence, water districts have been focusing on becoming more water independent while still keeping water rates low for customers. Instead of importing more water from the Sierra Mountains and the Colorado River, both of which are drying up, water districts are looking towards local recycling and desalination plants. [Read more…]

As many of you may know, the Imperial Beach Mayor is Serge Dedina. He was elected to office in 2014 for a four year term. Two other city council members are not up for election this year: Mayor Pro Tem Ed Spriggs and Councilmember Lorie Bragg.

This week, Spriggs wrote in to explain his position on Prop 59, calling on IB candidates to decline any contributions by Super PACs.

Furthermore, two city council seats are open this November. Current council member Brian Bilbray will not be running for re-election, so the only incumbent in the race is Robert Patton. A total of six candidates are running for the two city council seats.

This week, I contacted the City of Imperial Beach for election information. The City Clerk, Jacqueline Hald, provided me with the following important numbers: [Read more…]

A breakdown of the measures, school board positions and City County seats in this upcoming election.

South Bay, do you know who’s running for office? What about your state and local measures? Your vote could effect your drinking water, your child’s education, your taxpayer dollars, your roads and more.

But here’s the problem: the number of state propositions & local measures is enormous this year. Just check out Doug Porter’s breakdown of the California State Propositions from his Starting Line. Then there are 35 measures related to San Diego County Doug has covered.

Some of us have full time jobs, kids, elderly parents, spouses, household responsibilities and much more. How do we get a handle on this year’s ballot? This week, my column is devoted to our South Bay measures and candidates.

The Democratic Party breaks things down with their endorsements here. Allison Sampite-Montecalvo at the San Diego Union Tribune also gives an overview this week of the South Bay City Council candidates. Here are some extra tidbits specific to the South Bay: [Read more…]

Continued from Slumlord To Evict 20 San Ysidro Children By October

After interviewing occupants of the Gateway Inn at San Ysidro who received 60-day eviction notices that may leave them homeless, I made calls to several city officials this week. Public records show the owner of the dilapidated single room occupancy (SRO) building submitted a request to demolish the hotel — located near the U.S.-Mexico border — although the permit has not yet been approved.

Two messages were left for the Housing Commission regarding this; however, they did not return my calls. One of their documents cite a Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) Hotel Regulations Ordinance (San Diego Municipal Code 143.0510-143.0590) that says (page 3): “Applicants proposing the demolition or conversion of an SRO are required to pay relocation expenses to long-term tenants (residencies of 90 days or more).”

This is further supported by a Voice of San Diego article, which states: “In 2004, a change to a state law called the Ellis Act gave cities the ability to pass regulations to protect SROs from being demolished or turned into market-rate housing. San Diego’s ordinance says property owners can’t convert or tear down an SRO without agreeing to replace the lost units and pay each long-term tenant two months’ rent to cover relocation costs.”

One might then ask if the Ellis Act places the burden of decent affordable housing on the owner of this SRO? Unfortunately, no one has been able to answer my question. [Read more…]

All occupants residing at the 40-room Gateway Inn received a 60-day termination notice on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. The hotel, located one block from the U.S.-Mexico border, is a single room occupancy (SRO) hotel known to provide units to those who might otherwise be homeless.

The owner of the property, listed in public documents as Francis Lin, submitted a permit to the City of San Diego to demolish the two-story hotel, according to the San Diego Development Services Department. However, the permit – filed on Jan. 13, 2016 – has not yet been approved.

Rachel, an occupant of the Gateway Inn says, “Sixty days is not enough time…In my case, I have nine children. There’s not somebody that’s just going to take us in.” [Read more…]

… Bonita Vista High School Band Director Arrested on Molestation Charges, and South Bay Hosts Several Outdoor Summertime Events

Breaking News this week in Imperial Beach.

Mayor Serge Dedina, who is also the Executive Director at WildCoast, announced at the City Council meeting he thought Ed Drusina should be fired. Drusina is the head of the International Boundary & Water Commission (IBWC).

His problem: the IBWC has done nothing to solve the sewage problem coming from Mexico. WildCoast estimates that Mexico dumps, both legally and illegally, about 30 to 50 million gallons of sewage into the ocean everyday. Instead of cleaning up the problem, Drusina is focusing on a Presidential Permit to have the Otay Water District get water from the Rosarito Desalination plant. [Read more…]

As she looks back at the last thirty-five years, Skorepa says her most important achievement is that people have pride living in San Ysidro. She’s also proud of “always being ahead of the curve–designing programs, services and events that rock the boat, turn the boat over or send the boat home.”

Whether it’s pollution created at the San Ysidro Port of Entry due to wait times, pressing for more parkland in San Ysidro or establishing an art gallery where most people wouldn’t think to have one, Andrea’s out-of-the-box approach has had a lasting impact.

Moreover, Skorepa brought affordable housing to the South Bay over the decades. Casa Familiar has 451 units at Park Haven and another over 300 units in Villa Nueva. They also have affordable housing for seniors and continue to urge the city for increasing the available affordable units. [Read more…]